Paintball loading device

ABSTRACT

An adaptive, force-fed paintball loading device capable of delivering paintballs to a paintball marker against the force of gravity is disclosed. The paintball loading device preferably includes a refillable compartment that is generally an oblong elliptical container holding a plurality of paintballs. Paintballs are able to flow through an opening in the lower portion of the compartment and in between two synchronously geared counter-rotating helical augers. The geometry of flutes on the counter-rotating augers causes the paintballs in the lower portion of the container to be engaged between the augers and then pushed along a channel between the augers and out through a feed tube, which is attached to a paintball marker. A DC electric motor is used to drive the augers. A speed reduction unit is employed to reduce the motor shaft speed to a level practicably used by the synchronously geared augers. A feedback control loop and dynamic coupling element are also employed to enhance the response of the loading system to changing rates of fire of the attached paintball marker. Input signals from sensors on the paintball marker and the paintball loading device may also be employed to enhance the responsiveness of the paintball loading device to the demands of the paintball marker.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to paintball loading devices, more specifically, it relates to a paintball loader used to forcefully deliver paintballs to a paintball marker against the force of gravity.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The game of paintball usually involves the participation of two teams. Players on each team are armed with paintball markers that shoot small paint filled gelatin balls. The object of the game is for either of the teams to capture the opposing team's flag while at the same time eliminating as many of the opposing team's players as possible. An elimination occurs when a player is struck by a paintball. The paintball must rupture on the player to count as a “hit”. A “hit” on a player's equipment, such as their marker, also counts as an elimination. The game of paintball has experienced tremendous growth in technological advancements over the past several years. With the advent of semi automatic markers there arose a requirement for more sophisticated loading devices to deliver paintballs at higher feed rates than the original gravity assisted loaders. Many designs have emerged that have achieved higher rates of fire, though still leave room for improvement. Following are some examples of existing designs and descriptions of their deficiencies.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

To date, a large number of patents relating to feed systems and bulk loaders for paintball markers have been made for designs employing gravity assisted mechanisms to deliver paintballs to the marker. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,282,454, 6,415,781, 6,305,367, 6,481,432 and 6,418,919 all disclose loaders mounted above the breach of the marker using various methods of breaking up a jam when they occur in the paintball storage compartment of the loader.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,454 teaches a method of dislodging a jam using a paddle wheel mounted adjacent to a top inlet of a vertically oriented feed tube. An infrared sensor is used to detect an absence of paintballs in the feed tube to initiate a motor which drives the paddle wheel device, which then stirs the paintballs and dislodges the jam.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,526,955, 6,415,781, and 6,418,919 each disclose similar methods of dislodging jams. U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,955 teaches a center-less rotating disk to agitate the paintballs through which paintballs fall, U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,781 discloses a vertically positioned, rotating conical-shaped helical member to agitate the paintballs. U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,919 discloses a vibrating member suspended from the top of the paintball storage compartment to prevent jamming of the paintballs. Although all of the above mentioned patents achieve their intended purpose, they do so only satisfactorily. There are three disadvantages to all of these designs. Primarily, they fail to completely eliminate jamming (and hence do not eliminate the root cause of the problem). Secondly, all are designs that still rely on gravity to effectively deliver paintballs to the breach of the paintball marker as the agitating devices only partially prevents jamming. As a result, they must be mounted on top of the marker. In the sport of paintball, a hit on the marker counts as a hit on the player, thus the added height profile is a disadvantage. Thirdly, relying on gravity to deliver paintballs to the breach introduces an obvious limitation. Ignoring effects of air resistance as well as friction between a paintball and the inner surfaces of the loader, the time that it takes a paintball to drop in a 152.4mm (6inch) free-fall is governed by the following equation. [h=(0.5)(g)(t)(t)] Where g=9.817 m/s_sup_(—)2, t=time (in seconds) and h=height (in meters). Solving for t yields 0.176 seconds. A six inch free-fall is chosen since it can be assumed that the average height from the opening in the lower portion of the paintball storage compartment to the breach of the marker is six inches. Taking the inverse of 0.176 will give us the theoretical number of paintballs that can be fed into the breach per second by relying on gravity alone. This number is 5.7. Assuming that the weight of several balls on top of one another will apply extra momentum to the ball-stack, and that the churning action of an agitating member might help as well, a gravity fed agitating loader might be able to achieve a rate of delivery of 10 paintballs per second. With today's high tech markers it is very easy to out-shoot this number of paintballs as many of the semi-automatic markers are capable of 20 or more paintballs per second, in the hands of an experienced player.

There are some gravity assisted loaders which have managed to exceeded the feed rate of the above mentioned simple agitating-action gravity assisted loaders. One such loader is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,502,567 and 6,213,110. Both of these loaders disclose generally the same design, employing a cone-shaped rotating element located at the bottom of the paintball storage compartment with a plurality of fins distributed about the circumference of the cone. These fins are placed so as to accommodate one paintball between adjacent fins. As the cone rotates, the fins engage the paintballs and force them into an opening, which is tangentially oriented with the path of the rotating fins. The paintballs enter this opening and are then directed down a tube and thus into the breach of the paintball marker. While the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,502,567 and 6,213,110 feed the paintballs faster than the simple agitating, gravity-assist loaders, it still suffers from the fact that it is mounted on top of the marker and thus prone to taking hits from an opponent's shot. It is also incapable of effectively feeding paintballs up through a feed tube against the force of gravity and is therefore still partially dependent on gravity. Furthermore, should a paintball break within the loader during use, cleaning out the feed mechanism is not easily accomplished.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,232 discloses an improvement over U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,454 made by the same inventor. The inventor lists three improvements, these being (1) forcing the paintballs into the feed tube versus just stirring paintballs up, (2) directing the paintballs into the feed tube versus imparting directionless agitating motion to the paintballs and (3) positioning the loader in a position other than directly above the inlet to the breech of the paintball marker. While the loading device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,232 does impart a directional force on the paintballs via a horizontally mounted rotating paddle wheel which forcibly engages paintballs, this force is insufficient to feed the paintballs reliably against the force of gravity. Thus there is still the requirement that it positioned above the inlet to the breech of the marker and hence adds to the overall vertical profile of the player. The paddle wheel as disclosed in this invention does not provide for easy cleaning without disassembly.

There are yet other loaders which have been designed to mount underneath a paintball marker and feed against the force of gravity, five of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,771,875, 6,467,473, 6,488,019, 5,954,042, 6,109,252, 5,520,171 and 5,335,579.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,875 discloses a chain driven mechanism that feeds paintballs from a clip-like container mounted below the marker, very similar in looks to the ammunition clip of a real firearm. Although this particular loader effectively feeds paintballs without the aid of gravity, it has four key limitations. First, it was designed to fit only one particular marker. In actuality, U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,875 discloses a “gas powered repeating gun”, which includes the loader design. This particular design will not function on any other marker and thus has limited functionality. Another major drawback with this design is speed. By virtue of its many mechanical linkages it is not capable of the rapid rate of fire demanded by tournament players. It is also limited in capacity, and must have additional compartments added to accommodate more paintballs. Lastly, like many of the previously mentioned designs, it is very difficult to clean out both on and off the field.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,467,473 and 6,488,019 both disclose similar designs by the same inventor. This design is for a “paintball feeder” and not actually a loader. It requires a typical gravity assisted, agitating loader much like that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,232 to first supply it with a steady stream of paintballs. It then picks up each consecutive paintball between two flexible urethane discs, at least one of which spins, and essentially redirects the paintballs in the opposite direction. It's only advantage is to remove the typical gravity assisted loader from on top of the gun to either the left or right side of the marker. While in some cases this is advantageous, it still adds to the overall frontal area of the marker. In essence, it merely takes the potential target from the top of the gun and moves it to the side. Lastly, it also suffers from being difficult to clean out during play should a paintball break within its internals.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,042 discloses a loader design which is mounted on the underside of the paintball marker. This design employs a somewhat large container, with a rotating paddle wheel mounted internally with its axis of rotation collinear with the axis of the marker barrel. The paddle wheel's individual paddles are spaced such that no more than one paintball will fit between adjacent paddles. The container is equipped with a feed tube such that paintballs can be fed to the breach of the paintball marker. A wedge positioned within slots of the paddles directs paintballs into the opening of a feed tube. Although this design would appear to be effective in feeding paintballs at a reasonable rate to the marker, it has some inherent flaws. Firstly, due to the size of the paddle wheel the frontal area is quite large, presenting an enlarged target to an opponent. Secondly, the internals are arranged such that should paintball breakage occur while in use, it would be virtually impossible to effectively clean during game time, since tournament style paintball games rarely last more than 15 to 20 minutes. Also, with the ever increasing move towards more fragile paintballs, the ease at which paintballs either break within the loader and/or marker increases. More brittle shelled paintballs are desired since a more resilient shell means that the paintball breaks less easily on an opponent. A paintball that strikes it's opponent but doesn't break does not count as a hit. As a consequence however, the markers and loaders must be gentler on the paintballs. This requires lower operating pressures in the markers and less aggressive feeding regimes used in the loaders. The loader disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,042 employs a control feature whereby an electric motor winds up a spring which has one end connected to the paddle wheel and another to the motor shaft. When the spring is wound to a desired point the amperage drawn by the motor reaches a maximum value, that is, when paintballs are not being fed into the marker. At the maximum amperage the motor shuts off. There is sufficient torsion built up in the spring at this point to feed several paintballs. A sensor determines when a predetermined number of paintballs has been fed to the marker and the motor winds the spring up again. The need to wind the spring up to the point that more than one ball could be fed means that an excessive amount of force may be applied to the paintballs within the feed tube. This increases the likelihood of breakage. Lastly, it is taught that the control circuitry of this invention is programmed so as to engage the motor until it's maximum torque is reached in winding the spring before it shuts the motor off so that the motor stalls. Repeated operation under this mode can easily wear a motor out due to heat stress in the armature windings and heat fatigue of the commutators.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,252 discloses a generally vertically arranged cylindrical loader with an impeller-like drive member at the bottom thereof. The impeller has spherically shaped pockets designed to receive paintballs while rotating. Once received in the pockets of the impeller, the paintballs are guided into a feed tube connected to the marker. While appearing at first to be an adequate solution to feeding paintballs against the force of gravity, it becomes apparent upon closer investigation that there are three primary deficiencies with this design. Primarily, there is no provision for an adequate control system. The patent discloses a position sensor that interfaces with the trigger of a paintball marker. The sensor is configured to signal the loader to start feeding paintballs when the trigger starts to move. The design depends on the marker having a relatively long trigger pull, so that the loader has time to begin feeding paintballs before the marker actually fires. This method of operation is not particularly reasonable, as nearly all modern paintball markers have extremely short trigger travel, often less than 1 millimeter. Markers are also often fired quite rapidly, typically exceeding 15 cycles per second. This type of control system is not adequate for contemporary markers. The loader design also requires that the paintballs in the feed tube be slightly compressed prior to firing of the marker. Although paintballs do have a slight elasticity to their structure the loader disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,252 relies on this elasticity to provide a jump-start to the top-most paintball in the feed tube for entry into the breech of the marker. The primary deficiency in this dependency is that there is an elevated risk of a paintball rupturing. Finally, as with other hopper designs, the intricacy of the feed members are such that a ball breakage within the loader during game time would be very difficult to clean out without hindering a player's ability to contribute effectively to their team's efforts.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,171 and 5,335,579 are similar designs by the same inventor, both disclose a helical indexing magazine used to feed pellets or paintballs into an air gun. The disclosed designs include a cylindrical casing, the interior surface thereof comprising a helical ridge extending from one end to the other. An internal core includes longitudinally oriented ribs. The internal core is rotatably mounted on a first end cap and is driven by an indexing cam linked to the firing mechanism of the air gun. The outer casing is fixed relative to the end caps. Paintballs are loaded into the device prior to commencement of a game. While this device allows for the feeding of paintballs into a paintball marker without the assistance of gravity, there are two main disadvantages in the design. First, the device requires a marker capable of driving the cam indexing mechanism. No mainstream marker designs currently on the market are designed for any loading device in particular. Likewise, with the exception of U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,875, nearly all contemporary loaders are generically designed to fit on a multitude of various manufacturer's markers. The loading device of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,520,171 and 5,335,579 would thus require an additional mechanism to provide its motive power, which are neither disclosed or provided for in the patent. Secondly, since it must be loaded prior to game commencement, once the supply of paintballs are depleted it is virtually useless, as the time required to reload it would prevent the user from actively participating in the game. Finally, like many other designs, the internal design of the drive mechanism is not conducive to quick cleaning should a paintball break during game time, making the device difficult to use for the duration of the game.

It is therefore advantageous (and desirable) that a paintball loader possess the following attributes: (1) have a small a profile as possible while still holding a sufficient quantity of paintballs, (2) be mountable on any position of the marker (especially in locations which do not add to the overall profile of the player), (3) to not be gravity dependent in assisting in the delivery of paintballs to the breach of the marker, (4) be easily cleaned during play, (5) prevent jams from occurring (or even eliminate their occurrence altogether), (6) to feed paintballs at the highest feed rate possible. It is the object of the invention hereinafter disclosed to meet all of these requirements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an automatic self feeding paintball marker consisting of a paintball marker having a breach and an automatic paintball loader for feeding the breach with paintballs. The paintball loader is mounted below the paintball marker making the marker easier to use. The paintball loader includes a hopper having a cavity, an exit port and an opening. The hopper is dimensioned to store a quantity of paintballs. A drive housing is mounted adjacent the hopper, the drive housing having a feed port in communication with the exit port of the hopper. The drive housing has an augur channel in communication with the feed port and a discharge port at one end of the augur channel. A pair of parallel augurs are rotatably mounted in the augur channel. The paintball loader includes a feed tube having opposite fist and second ends, the first end being coupled to the discharge port of the drive housing, and the second end being attachable to the breach of the paintball marker. Finally, the paintball loader also includes an electric drive mechanism for rotating the augurs in a counter rotating fashion in order to move paintballs through the augur channel, out of the discharge opening and through the feed tube.

With the foregoing in view, and other advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the invention is herein described by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which includes a description of the preferred typical embodiment of the principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The attached drawings set forth the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 a is a perspective of the preferred embodiment of the paintball loading device.

FIG. 1 b is a profile view of the preferred embodiment of the paintball loading device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the paintball loading device with a housing component removed for clarity in viewing the internal components.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the primary housing components including the flip-top lid and the feed tube.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the paintball loading device of the present invention mated with a paintball marker.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the paintball loading device of the present invention attached to a paintball marker.

FIG. 6 shows the cross-sectional profile view of the paintball loading device and marker indicated by A-A in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 a is a graphical representation showing the electrical current response of the drive motor of the present invention without the use of a dynamic coupling element.

FIG. 7 b is a graphical representation showing the electrical current response of the drive motor utilizing a dynamic coupling element.

FIG. 8 is a profile view of the electrical components, drive system, speed reduction unit, feed system and brake mechanism of the paintball loading device.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional profile view of the internal components of the paintball loading device indicated by B-B of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the internal mechanical and electrical components of the paintball loading device of the present invention.

FIG. 11 a is a perspective view of the internal mechanical and electrical components of the paintball loading device.

Fig. 11 b is an end view of the internal mechanical and electrical components of the paintball loading device.

FIG. 12 a is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the capacitive sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 12 b is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the capacitive sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 13 a and FIG. 13 b show perspective views of alternate embodiments of the capacitive sensor of the paintball loading device.

FIG. 14 a and FIG. 14 b show perspective views two embodiments of the gear tooth position sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 15 a is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the Dynamic Coupling Element of the present invention.

FIG. 15 b is a perspective view of an alternate embodiments of the Dynamic Coupling Element of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the electrical control unit and it's various components.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view the paintball loading device of the present invention showing two pieces of equipment typically used for cleaning paint residue out of existing paintball loading devices and paintball markers.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the drive system of the present invention.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring firstly to FIG. 6 the present invention is an automatically fed paint ball marker, shown generally as item 11 which consists of a paintball marker 12 and an automatic paintball loading device 14. Paintball loading device 14 comprises a paintball hopper 16 having opening 18 and exit port 20. A drive housing 24 is mounted immediately below hopper 16. Drive housing 24 has an augur channel 26 containing a pair of parallel helical augurs 114 and 116 (see FIG. 9). Augur channel 26 has an exit port 136. Feed tube 131 has opposite ends 131 a and 170 a. End 131 a is coupled to exit port 136 and end 170a is coupled to breech 170 of paintball marker 12. The augurs are coupled to drive mechanism 22. Drive mechanism 22 is configured to rotate the augurs in a counter rotating fashion in order to drive paintballs between the augurs and through feed tube 131 and into breach 170.

Drive mechanism 22 consists of an electric motor 108 coupled to pulley 106 which is in turn coupled to dampening spring 109. Dampening spring 109 is coupled to augur 114. The augurs are coupled to each other by gears 28. Dampening spring 109 is configured to store a torsional force. Dampening spring 109 preferably comprises an elongated helical spring which is coupled to pulley 106 at one end and to augur 114 at the other end. Electric motor 108 is controlled by motor controller 125 which is configured to stop the motor when motor 108 draws too much current. Paintball sensor 123 is positioned adjacent end 170 a of feed tube 131. Paintball sensor 123 is coupled to motor controller 125 and is further configured to send an electrical signal to the motor controller when paintballs pass by the sensor. Preferably, sensor 125 is a capacitive sensor having electrodes 402 and 403 mounted adjacent end 170 a. Preferably, motor controller 125 is programmed to start up motor 108 when the motor controller receives the electrical signal from sensor 123.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show various views of the paintball loading device of the present invention. The plastic housing of the paintball loading device is generally comprised of four primary components. Two main halves 129 and 130 form the generally oblong elliptical compartment which holds quantity of paintballs, typically in the range of 150 to 250 paintballs, as well as a lower portion which contains the primary drive components. For the purpose of describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the individual molded components of the main housing will be described as a complete part 140 (hereinafter referred to as the “main housing”). The main housing 140 comprises the two main halves 129 and 130, an internal mounting plate 127 and a lower cover 128. The flip-top lid 126 and feed tube 131 however will not be included in this generalized description. An opening 133 on the top side of the storage compartment allows the supply of paintballs to be replenished during game time, the hinged flip-top lid 126 is used to seal the opening 133 when not opened for refilling. The removable feed tube 131 directs paintballs out of the paintball loading device to an attached paintball marker 100 (not shown). The feed tube 131 may be a flexible conduit, but also may be made of a rigid material. Geometry of the feed tube 131 will vary according to what style of marker the paintball loading device is connected to. The inlet end 131 a of the feed tube 131 is slidably attached to the outlet port 140 g of the main casing 140. The lower cover 128 encloses the electrical and drive components. The internal mounting plate 127 is used to separate the feed system from the rest of the internal components. It should be apparent that these molded components can be altered in shape while still performing their intended function. Therefore, deletion or modification of individual parts can be made provided the overall general function of the paintball loading device is not compromised.

FIG. 2, 9, 10 and 11 show various views of the internal mechanical components of the paintball loading device. For the purpose of simplifying some of the following description, components of the paintball loading device may be grouped together. As well, these groupings may share components of another system. For instance, the drive system 22 includes motor 108, drive pulley 106, o-ring belts 107 and the DCE shroud 105 (which is described in more detail below). The drive system also includes the two helical augers 114 and 115 and their respective shafts 116 and 117. A brake mechanism 40 is comprised of a brake arm 101, a biasing spring 102 and a roller brake 103. The drive system is powered by a small DC motor 108, of the kind typically used in toy cars. The motor 108 is securely attached to one of the molded plastic housing components. Power is supplied by a rechargeable battery 119 via an electronic control unit 125. A drive pulley 106 is fitted to the shaft of the motor 108. One or more nitrile o-rings 107 are used as drive belts to transfer power from the drive pulley 106 to a larger pulley 105 (hereinafter referred to as the DCE shroud 105). DCE is an acronym for “Dynamic Coupling Element”, whose function will be made clearer in the following paragraphs. The purpose of the DCE shroud 105 is twofold. Firstly, it is a component of the drive mechanism used to reduce the rotational speed of the motor 108 to a speed practicably usable by feed system 30. The diameter of the DCE shroud 105 is generally two to three times larger than the drive pulley 106. Its second purpose is to act as a coupling element between the speed reduction unit 20 (of which it is a part) and the feed system 30. The DCE shroud 105 is rotatably mounted on a first auger shaft 116 (hereinafter referred to simply as the first shaft) and is positioned adjacent to the first gear 110. The DCE 109 or “dynamic coupling element” in the preferred embodiment is a coil spring with two axial tangs 109 a, 109 b at either end. It can also take the form of a flexible molded rubber or plastic part, similar to that shown in FIG. 15 b. The DCE 109 is secured to the first gear 116 by a first tang 109 a. A second tang 109 b of the DCE 109 secures the DCE 109 to the DCE shroud 105, thereby forming a dynamic link between the DCE 109, the DCE shroud 105 and the first gear 110. The first shaft 116 rotates within bushings 113 positioned at either end of the first auger 114. The bushings 113 are located within recesses 140 b in portions of the main housing 140, adjacent to either end of the first auger cavity 140 c. The first auger 114 is securely over-molded to the first shaft 116, the molded material being a flexible thermoset or thermoplastic polymer. The first shaft 116 generally is a 0.25 inch diameter hollow steel shaft with a typical wall thickness of 0.035 inches or less. The first gear 110 is friction fit on the first shaft 116 and meshes with a second gear 111, said second gear 111 being friction fit to a second shaft 117. Said second shaft rotates within bushings 113 positioned in recesses 140 d in portions of the main housing 140, adjacent to either end of the second auger cavity (not shown), said second shaft also typically made of 0.25 inch diameter hollow steel tubing.

The first and second gear 110, 111 are generally molded from a thermoplastic resin. Both are 1.25 inch pitch diameter, involute tooth spur gears. Since the first gear 110 directly meshes with the second gear 111, the first auger 114 and second auger 115 are caused to counter-rotate at the same speed.

FIG. 14 a illustrates in perspective the brake mechanism 40 as attached to the drive system 10 and feed system 30 as well as a frontal view in FIG. 14 b. The brake mechanism 40 is located adjacent to the DCE shroud 105 on the side opposite to that of the first gear 110. The brake mechanism 40 consists of a brake arm 101, a roller brake 103 and a torsional biasing spring 102. The axis of rotation of the brake arm 101 is collinear with the axis of rotation of the DCE shroud 105. The brake arm 101 in its at-rest state is skewed slightly off-center from vertical plane defined by the axis of rotation of the DCE shroud 105 and the pivot axis of the brake arm 101. This allows the roller brake 103 to engage between the o-ring belts 107 and a top surface of a braking ramp 140 f. The braking ramp 140 f is a molded feature of the main casing 140. The skewed relationship of the brake arm 101 relative to said defined vertical plane is required to prevent the roller brake 103 from going over-center and binding between the DCE shroud 105 and the braking ramp 140 f. The biasing spring 102 acts to bias the brake arm 101 so that the roller brake 103 will wedge between the o-ring belts 107 and the braking ramp 140 f when the drive system is at rest.

FIG. 9 shows a section view of the drive unit, speed reduction unit and feed system and illustrates the geometry of the first and second augers 114, 115. The augers 114, 115 are designed such that when configured as shown, a paintball 132 will fit loosely in the voids 135 created between the flutes 114 a, 115 a of the augers 114, 115. The surfaces 114 b, 115 b on either side of the flutes 114 a, 115 a have an approximate radius of 0.375 inches, slightly larger than the nominal radius of a paintball 132, that being 0.340 inches.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 8 show the electrical components which are part of the preferred embodiment of this invention. All of the electrical components, with the exception of the capacitive sensor 123 and the trigger switch 134 are contained within the molded casing 140 of the paintball loading device. The electrical control unit (or ECU) 125 is used to process signals from the capacitive sensor 123, the gear-tooth position sensor 124, trigger switch 134 of the paintball marker 100 and current level feedback from the electrical motor 108. The capacitive sensor 123 is mounted between the outlet end of the feed tube 131 b and the input port 170 a to the breech 170 of the paintball marker 100. Signal leads 123 a from the capacitive sensor 123 are routed to the ECU 125 by the most convenient route possible, preferably along the feed tube 131. Other components of the electrical system include: an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 120 which may consist of an LED bank or LCD to indicate various fault and/or status conditions, one or more potentiometers and/or switch banks 121 for adjustment of control settings and a rechargeable battery 119 for-power supply.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED OPERATION

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a paintball loading device mounted forward of the underside of a paintball marker. The paintball loading device is attached to the marker 100 via a metal bracket 167 which mounts to the underside of the marker grip-frame 169. Note that the marker 100 is comprised of several components, these being the body 171, bolt 161, barrel 164, grip 169 and trigger 162.

Prior to use, the paintball loading device is filled with a quantity of paintballs. The paintballs are loaded into the storage cavity 140 j of the main casing 140 via an opening 133 near the front end of the paintball loading device. A flip-top lid 126 is used to prevent the paintballs from spilling out of the loading device during game time. An activation button 122 is used to prime the system. Depressing the activation button 122 initializes the motor 108 causing the augers 114, 115 to spin. The paintballs 132 are thus fed into the feed tube 131 until the first paintball reaches the breech inlet port 170 a, at which point it will come to rest against the bolt 161 of the paintball marker 100. At this point the feed tube 131 will be filled with paintballs. Since the internal diameter of the feed tube 131 is just slightly larger than the nominal diameter of a paintball, it should be understood that the paintballs in the feed tube 131 must form a contiguous stream. Although not shown in the figures, this contiguous stream of paintballs in the feed tube 131 shall henceforth be referred to as the “paintball stack”. The amperage drawn by the motor 108 increases when the movement of the paintball stack within the feed tube 131 is halted. Current draw feedback to the ECU 125 alerts the motor control portion of the ECU 125 to stop the motor 108. The DCE 109 builds up tension as the motor 108 slows down, thereby storing energy and exerting a force on the paintball stack. The force exerted on the paintball stack is sufficient to advance one or more paintballs into the breech 170 when the bolt 161 opens prior to the motor 108 in the paintball loading device initializing.

Activation of the paintball loading device during game time may be accomplished by one or more sensor inputs to the ECU 125. The primary method of activation is by the capacitive sensor 123 mounted between the outlet end 131 b of the feed tube 131 and the breech input port 170 a. The capacitive sensor 123 is activated when a paintball passes through said capacitive sensor 123. The capacitive sensor 123 is typically composed of a molded plastic body 123 a, a plug 123 f, a first charge plate 123 b and a second charge plate 123 c, a first shield 123 d and second shield 123 e and a driver 123 g. The driver 123 g is comprised of a digital circuit which may be part of the capacitive sensor 123 (as shown in FIG. 12 a and 12 b) or part of the circuitry of the ECU 125 in the main housing 140 of the paintball loading device. The driver 123 g applies a positive voltage to the first charge plate 123 b and a negative voltage to the second charge plate 123 c. An electric field is thus created between the two charge plates 123 b, 123 c. When there is no paintball between the charge plates 123 b, 123 c the amount of charge which can build up between the plates 123 b, 123 c is determined by the dielectric constant of air.

The capacitive sensor 123 operates by detecting the dielectric strength of a paintball as it passes between the charge plates 123 b, 123 c. All materials have an associated dielectric strength, which is represented as “K”. For example: for air K=1.0, for vegetable oil K=4.0, for distilled water K=80. The capacitance of two parallel charged plates of area “A” and separated by a distance “d”, with a material of dielectric strength “K” between said plates is given by the equation C=(A*K)/d. As can be seen in FIG. 12 a and FIG. 12 b, the geometry of the capacitive sensor 123 is different than the case of two parallel plates separated by a thin gap. However, the general relationship of the equation will apply. Therefore, as a paintball exiting the feed tube 131 comes into the proximity of the capacitive sensor 123, the higher dielectric strength of the paintball relative to that of ambient air will cause the charge between the two charge plates 123 b, 123 c to increase. The primary constituents of a paintball are vegetable oil and vegetable oil shortening (or similar ingredients), the balance being colorants and fillers which give the oil/shortening mixture a more viscous and colorful nature. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,092 for more detail on the general composition of the fill in paintballs. With the primary constituents of the paintball being vegetable oil, the dielectric constant “K” is generally four times greater than that of air. Therefore, the corresponding charge between the charge plates 123 b, 123 c will increase fourfold when the centroid of the paintball is coincident with the center of the capacitive sensor 123. The change in charge between the charge plates 123 b, 123 c will cause a proportional change in voltage as detected by the driver 123 g. The driver 123 g then conditions this voltage signal so that the ECU 125 can use it for controlling the response of the drive system within the paintball loading device.

A useful aspect of the capacitive sensor 123 is the output of a differential signal. As a paintball just begins to enter the charge field of the capacitive sensor 123, the charge capacity of the capacitive sensor 123 will change ever so slightly. As the paintball continues to advance through the capacitive sensor 123 the charge capacity will continue to increase, until the centroid of a paintball is coincident with the center of the capacitive sensor 123. As the paintball begins to exit the capacitive sensor 123 the charge capacity will begin to decrease. Because of this relative sensing capability, the capacitive sensor 123 can detect the change of position of a paintball as it passes through the capacitive sensor 123, not just the presence or absence of a paintball. If a steady stream of paintballs is fed through the capacitive sensor 123, the voltage output will resemble a sinusoidal waveform, the peaks and the troughs of the waveform representing the points at which the center and edge of the paintballs are coincident with the center of the sensor, respectively. The usefulness of this feature will become more apparent as the description of the present invention is further elaborated.

When a voltage is applied to the first and second charge plates 123 b, 123 c, an electric field is generated all about the plates 123 b, 123 c. To inhibit extraneous sources of signal noise or interference, shields 123 d, 123 e are positioned on the exterior of the molded body 123 a of the capacitive sensor 123. The driver 123 g applies voltages of the same magnitude as the first and second charge plates 123 b, 123 c to the first and second shields 123 d, 123 e, respectively. Since there is no difference in the voltage between the charge plates 123 b, 123 c and their respective shields 123 d, 123 e, no electric field will be created. The charge plates 123 b, 123 c are thus shielded from any extraneous interference.

Two alternative embodiments to the capacitive sensor are shown in FIG. 13 a and 13 b. The capacitive sensor of FIG. 13 a is designed to be mounted in the body of a paintball marker. The sensor is comprised of two oppositely charged charge plates 402, 403, respective charge plate shields 404, 405 and a driver (not shown in FIG. 13 a). The charge plates 402, 403 of this embodiment are actually cylindrical in shape. Since the sensor components are mounted in the body 401 of a paintball marker a molded sensor housing is no longer required. The section of the paintball marker body 401 shown in FIG. 13 a is shown cut-away for clarity. The capacitive sensor of FIG. 13 a operates on the same principals as the sensor of FIG. 12 a and 12 b. However, instead of sensing the paintballs as they pass through the sensor, the charge plates 402, 403 are mounted on either side of the breech 406 and the paintball is detected as it passes though the inlet port 407 and into the breech 406. A second alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 13 b illustrates a capacitive sensor 500 which uses a slightly different method of operation. This sensor is comprised of an emitter 501, a shell 502 and a driver 503. In this embodiment, the capacitive sensor utilizes a method called fringing, whereby the electric field is not generated between two opposed plates. Rather, the electric field wraps back from the emitter 501 to the shell 502. The fringing effect is represented by a number of three-dimensional arrows 504 which depict the general shape of the electric field. If a paintball is presented in front of the emitter 501, the electric field that wraps back onto the shell 502 will be altered. The driver 503 then sends a conditioned signal to the ECU 125 for processing. The alternative embodiment of the capacitive sensor as illustrated in FIG. 13 b is particularly well suited to applications where using two opposed charge plates is inconvenient as only one sensor element is required.

A second method of activating the paintball loading device is via direct coupling of the ECU 125 to a trigger switch 134 of the paintball marker 12. This is only achievable on markers equipped with electronic control modules, or on specially modified markers. The signal type generated by the trigger switch 134 is of a discrete nature, that being, either “on” or “off”.

A third sensor used for general diagnostics which can also be used to generate an activation signal is the gear tooth position sensor 124. This sensor is mounted within the main casing 140 adjacent to the second gear 111. The gear tooth position sensor 124 may either be a “through beam” type sensor or a “diffuse infrared” sensor. A through beam sensor (as shown in FIG. 14 a) has an emitter 124 a placed on one side of the gear 111 and a receiver 124 b placed on the opposite side. The emitter/receiver pair are placed so as to direct an infrared beam through the tooth portion of the gear 111. When the gear 111 moves, the teeth cut the through beam and a discrete signal is generated. Alternately, a diffuse infrared sensor may be placed in the radial plane of the gear 111 (see FIG. 14 b), pointing towards the center of the gear 111. The diffuse infrared sensor directs a diffuse infrared beam at the face of the gear teeth, which is redirected back to the diffuse sensor. The diffure beam is displayed as an arrow 124 e in FIG. 14 b. When the gear 111 begins to rotate, the beam is reflected away from the sensor at a different angle and a discrete signal is generated. In a diffuse infrared sensor the emitter 124 c and receiver 124 d are placed side-by-side. Back pressure exerted on the paintball stack in the feed tube 131 of the paintball loading device is released when the paintball marker 12 is cycled (fired). The back pressure on the paintball stack is exerted by the stored tension in the DCE 109, which is connected directly to the first shaft 116 and hence the second shaft 117 via the gears 110, 111. Therefore, when the back pressure in the paintball stack is released, the feed system 30 will rotate, which will activate the gear tooth position sensor 124, sending a discrete signal to the ECU 125 to initiate the paintball loading device drive system 10.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the method of activating the paintball loading device is via the capacitive sensor 123. With the paintball loading device primed as described in paragraph [0050], and attached to an appropriate semi-automatic marker, the paintball loading device is now ready to be used. Upon pulling the trigger 162 of the paintball marker 12, the bolt 161 is retracted and a paintball is advanced into the breech 170. The tension stored in the DCE 109 after priming imparts a torque on the augers 114, 115, in turn exerting a force on the paintball stack in the feed tube 131. This is the mechanism by which the paintball adjacent to the bolt 161 is forced into the breech 170 when the marker 100 is cycled. The movement of the first paintball at the top of the paintball stack into the breech 170 causes the other paintballs in the feed tube to advance. This movement is sensed by the capacitive sensor 123 and a signal is sent to the ECU 125. What actions the ECU 125 take next will depend of the sequence of events to follow.

If the paintball marker 12 is only fired once, the ECU 125 will signal the motor 108 to run for a very brief moment, just enough to rewind the DCE 109 up to its stand-by tension. This is required so that sufficient force is applied to the paintball stack to force one paintball into the breech 170 the next time the marker 12 is cycled.

If the operator continues to cycle the marker 100, the capacitive sensor 123 will continue to sense the passage of paintballs through the feed tube 131 into the breech 170. The signal from the capacitive sensor 123 will be used by the ECU 125 to activate the motor 108 as long as the marker 100 is cycled. The ECU 125 is equipped with a motor control feature that delivers power to the motor 108 in “pulses”. This is referred to as Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). In the past, motor speed was controlled using a simple variable resistor. This wastes energy as heat dissipated by the resistor. Pulse width modulation sends pulses of energy to the motor 108. For a slow speed, the motor controller sends widely spaced pulses of energy to the motor 108. As the speed requirement increases, the pulses of energy become more frequent. For full speed, the energy ceases to be pulsed and becomes constant. Voltage regulation may also be used to control motor speed. This is accomplished via digital voltage regulation circuitry. The end result of using pulse width modulated and regulated voltage is increased battery life, as well as finer control of the output performance of the paintball loading device.

The main component on the ECU 125 is a high-speed digital processor. This processor uses the signal generated by the capacitive sensor 123 to determine the instantaneous demand for paintballs by the marker 100. The processor then uses this information to control the motor speed controlling portion of the ECU 125. With the performance characteristics of the motor 108 known, the processor can exactly match motor speed to paintball demand. Another integral component of the control system is the DCE 109. Although the DEC 109 is a mechanical component it performs critical damping and response functions.

Consider the operational characteristics required of the motor 108 when connected directly to the feed system 30 of the paintball loading device. The paintball marker 100 is cyclical in its operation. This means that the bolt 161 must move from a forward position to a rearward position to load a paintball 132 and then move back to the forward position to chamber the paintball 132 in the breech 170. The bolt in FIG. 6 is shown in the retracted position. The bolt 161 must then remain in the forward position while the paintball marker 100 is fired, expelling the paintball 132 out the barrel 164. The top-most paintball in the paintball stack within the feed tube 131 then comes to rest against the bolt 161 for the amount of time that the bolt 161 is in the forward position. The time period for which the bolt 161 comes to rest is typically at least 20 milliseconds, but varies depending on the rate of fire of the marker 100. With a motor 108 attached directly to the feed system 30 the current drawn by the motor 108 will spike each time a paintball stops against the bolt 161. See FIG. 7 a for a graphical representation of current drawn by a motor as paintballs are fed into the breech 170 at a steady rate of twenty balls per second. FIG. 7 a shows a 0.25 second interval. It is a well-known characteristic with electric DC motors that the current drawn by the motor rises proportionally as the torque load on the motor increases. Section 7 a.i of the graph in FIG. 7 a represents the period of time where a paintball is stopped against the bolt 161. As can be seen, the current drawn by the motor 108 increases markedly as the paintball is held in place by the bolt 161. Once the bolt 161 opens to allow a paintball into the breech 170 the current drawn by the motor 108 diminishes to its minimum value. Note that while the bolt 161 is in the retracted position the motor still draws current since it is still under load. The current draw characteristics as shown in FIG. 7 a would quickly wear a motor out due to thermal fatigue of the armature windings and the motor brushes.

The present invention solves this dilemma by the use of a DCE (Dynamic Coupling Element) 109 situated between the speed reduction unit 20 and the feed system 30, as shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 10, FIG. 15 a and Fig. 15 b. The DCE 109 in the preferred embodiment is a coil spring with two axial tangs 109 a, 109 b at either end. It can also take the form of a flexible molded rubber or plastic part, similar to that shown in FIG. 8 b. The DCE 109 is secured to the first gear 116 by a first tang 109 a. A second tang 109 b of the DCE 109 secures the DCE 109 to the DCE shroud 105, thereby forming a captive link between the DCE 109 and the DCE shroud 105. The DCE shroud 105 is rotatably mounted on the first shaft 116. Power is transferred from the motor 108 via the drive pulley 106 mounted on the motor shaft to the DCE shroud 105 by one or more nitrile o-rings 107 that act as belts.

When the paintball marker 12 is fired, a paintball will pass sensor 123 causing the sensor to send an electrical signal to the ECU 125 to start the motor 108. The ECU 125 will continue to drive the motor 108 as long as it continues receiving a varying signal from the capacitive sensor 123, in other words, as long as the marker 12 continues to be fired. Recall that since the paintball marker's firing action is cyclical that the load on the motor 108 cycles as well, due to the stopping action of the paintballs against the bolt 161 when the bolt 161 closes. With the DCE 109 in place, there is now a shock absorbing element to smooth out the torque experienced by the motor 108 and hence the current drawn by the motor 108. Refer to FIG. 7 b for a graphical representation of current drawn by the motor versus a 0.25 second interval in which five paintballs are fired at equal time intervals of 50 milliseconds. Note that this graph represents the current draw characteristics of a motor in a paintball loading device which is equipped with a DCE 109. In reviewing the graph it is obvious that the current does not spike as with the loading device not equipped with the DCE 109, as shown in FIG. 7 a. As the bolt 161 in the marker 12 moves to its forward position, the paintball stack in the feed tube 131 comes to a stop. As the paintball stack comes to a halt a force builds up in the stack and is transferred to the feed system 30 which in turn transfers the force to the drive unit 10 as an increase in torque. With the DCE 109 in place, instead of the motor 108 stopping abruptly and drawing an increased amount of current, the DCE 109 begins to wind up, absorbing the torque and storing it as potential energy. The motor 108 still experiences an increase in torque, yet at a reduced rate, as shown by the less dramatic rise in the slope (portion 7 b.i of FIG. 7 b) of the current versus time curve in FIG. 7 b. When the bolt 161 opens to its rearward position the DCE 109 partially unwinds, releasing some of the stored energy. The unwinding action aides in propelling the top-most paintball in the paintball stack into the breech 170 of the marker 12.

A brake mechanism 40 is used to maintain tension in the DCE 109 when there is no demand for paintballs by the marker 100. When the demand for paintballs ceases, the DCE 109 has a tendency to unwind. Without a means of arresting the unwinding action the DCE 109 would not be able to store energy, and hence would not be able to force paintballs into the breech 170 of the marker 100 at the beginning of each firing sequence.

As seen in FIG. 11 a and Fig. 11 b the brake mechanism is comprised of a brake arm 101, a torsional biasing spring 102 and a roller brake 103. The brake arm 101 is a generally elongated “S” shaped wire form. The biasing spring 102 acts to bias the brake arm 101 in a counter clockwise direction (when viewed from the front of the paintball loading device, as in Fig. 11 b). The top tang 101 a serves as the point of rotation of the brake arm 101 and is located in a hole formed in the main casing 140. The lower tang 101 b of the brake arm 101 serves as the rotational axis for the roller brake 103. The brake mechanism 40 functions by being wedged between the o-ring belts 107 which ride in guide grooves of the DCE shroud 105 and the top surface of a braking ramp 140 f. The braking ramp 140 f is a molded feature of the main casing 140.

When the demand for paintballs from the marker 100 ceases, the signal from the capacitive sensor 123 to the ECU 125 terminates. As torque in the DCE 109 builds, current drawn by the motor 108 increases until it reaches a maximum allowable value, at which point the motor driver 125 b turns the motor 108 off. The torsion built up in the DCE 109 then acts to reverse the direction of rotation of the DCE shroud 105. Due the biasing action of the biasing spring 102 on the brake arm 101, the roller brake 103 immediately jams between the o-ring belts 107 and the top surface of the braking ramp 140 f. The DCE 109 is thus prevented from further unwinding and exerts a torque on the feed system 30 which in turn exerts a force on the paintball stack in the feed tube 131. The force exerted on the paintball stack holds the top-most paintball in the stack against the bolt 161 until the marker 100 cycles again. The next time the marker 100 is fired, the force exerted on the paintballs in the feed tube 131 causes the top-most paintball to advance into the breech 170. The movement of paintballs through the capacitive sensor 123 sends a signal to the ECU 125 to restart the motor 108. The motor 108 starts, driving the DCE shroud 105 in a clockwise direction (as viewed from the front of the paintball loading device) causing the o-ring belts 107 to dislodge the roller brake 103. The drive system 10 is then free to drive the feed system 30 until the demand for paintballs from the marker 100 ceases, at which point the roller brake 103 is once again jammed between the 0-rings 107 and the braking ramp 140 f.

FIG. 16 shows a generalized representation of the ECU 125 and its primary components. The ECU's 125 core component is a high-speed digital microprocessor 125 a. Its function is to gather and manipulate signals from various inputs to control the motor 108 and provide status conditions to the user of the paintball loading device. Other components of the ECU 125 include a motor controller 125 b, an HMI 125 c (Human Machine Interface, which can be either Light Emitting Diodes or a Liquid Crystal Display), various signal conditioners 125 d, and control features 125 e (which may include DIP switches, push buttons, potentiometers or any other means of selecting/adjusting operational settings of the ECU 125). It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that exact placement of the forgoing elements of the ECU 125 need to be exactly as laid-out in FIG. 16 for operational function of the paintball loading device. FIG. 16 is for illustrative purposes only.

The primary function of the ECU 125 is to control motor speed. As mentioned previously, the capacitive sensor 123 is the means by which the ECU 125 determines when to activate the motor 108. The differential output signal generated by the capacitive sensor 123 allows proportional speed control of the motor 108. The ECU 125 achieves proportional speed control via a PWM (Pulse Width Modulated) motor controller. The ECU 125 also determines when to stop the motor 108. Although a termination of the signal from the capacitive sensor 123 may be used to stop the motor 108, a specific force needs to be applied to the paintballs within the feed tube 131 when the motor 108 stops. Therefore the capacitive sensor 123 signal is not adequate for this task. Feedback from the capacitive sensor 123 cannot be related to force on the paintballs in the feed tube 131. Recall that the current drawn by a motor is directly proportional to the torque it experiences. The torque on the feed system 30, and hence the torque on the motor 108, is known to be proportional to the force exerted on the paintball stack in the feed tube 131. Since the maximum desirable force that can be exerted on a paintball prior its deformation can be determined, the controller can be set to terminate power to the motor 108 before it draws the maximum current necessary to critically deform a paintball in the feed tube 131. The maximum current set point can be adjusted using the control features 125 e on the ECU 125.

Stopping the motor 108 using current feedback is useful in that it provides for very consistent stored torque levels in the DCE 109. This is particularly desirable because players may choose to use specific types of paintballs. Some players prefer brittle-shelled paintballs while others prefer strong-shelled paintballs. Brittle-shelled paintballs break easier upon impact with a target but also rupture more easily within the paintball marker 100 and the paintball loading device. Being able to adjust the maximum current set point allows for fine-tuning of the force exerted on the paintballs within the feed tube 131 of the paintball loading device. Therefore, for brittle-shelled paintballs the current (and hence force) can be set low, while for strong-shelled paintballs the current can be set high.

Refer to FIG. 3, FIG. 6, FIG. 9, and FIG. 10 for a description of the method by which the augers 114, 115 deliver paintballs to the paintball marker. It can be seen by virtue of their geometry, the augers 114, 115 are able to convert rotational motion into linear motion. The augers 114, 115 are comparable to two counter rotating, oppositely threaded screws. As the augers 114, 115 spin, the spaces 135 created between the flutes 114 a, 115 b move longitudinally relative to the rotational axis of the augers 114, 115. In this way the augers 114, 115 transfer the paintballs 132 along a channel 140 i, out the exit port 136 of the main casing 140 and up through the feed tube 131 to the marker 100. The augers 114, 115 are over-molded onto hollow steel shafts 116, 117, the molding material being a semi-flexible thermoset or thermoplastic material.

FIG. 9 shows a cross sectional profile view of the augers 114, 115, which details the geometry of the augers 114, 115. The geometry of the augers 114, 115 is as follows: both augers 114, 115 have a tip-to-tip diameter (of the flutes 114 a, 115 a) of roughly 1 inch. The center-to-center distance between the augers 114, 115 is 1.25 inches. A helix with a pitch of roughly 0.75 inches defines the path of the flutes 114 a, 115 a around the auger cores. The contact surfaces 114 b, 115 b have an approximate radius of 0.37 inches. The spaces 135 formed between the flutes 114 a, 115 a are just slightly larger (nominal diameter of 0.75 inches) than a paintball 132, which has a nominal diameter of 0.68 inches.

The secondary function of the augers 114, 115 is to stir the mass of paintballs in the storage cavity 140 j of the main casing 140. The movement of the flutes 114 a, 115 a beneath the paintballs in the storage cavity 140 j results in a continuous undulating motion that prevents jamming of the paintballs in the storage cavity 140 j. The counter-rotating action of the augers 114, 115 also actively drag the paintballs down into the spaces 135 between the auger flutes 114 a, 115 a.

Due to manufacturing irregularities in producing paintballs it is impossible to completely eliminate paintball breakage inside the storage cavity 140 j of the main casing 140 and in the area occupied by the augers 114, 115. The present invention provides for easy and accessible cleaning on its internal feed mechanism in two ways. FIG. 17 shows a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the paintball loading device. The second half 130 of the main casing 140 and the second auger 115 and related components have been eliminated from the drawing for better comprehension. Shown are two accessories typically used to clean paintball fill residue out of paintball equipment. The first item, a “battle swab”190 is typically comprised of a one-foot long plastic handle 190 a and a mop-like head 190 b of braided fabric. It is used to swab paint residue out of the storage cavity 140 j of the paintball loading device. The second piece of equipment is a “barrel swab” 191, generally a flexible cable 191 a wrapped in a wool-like material 191 b at one or both ends. The outer diameter of the wool-like wrap is nominally 0.75 inches. Although the barrel swab 191 is typically used to clean paint residue out of the barrel 164 of a paintball marker 100, it can also be used to clean paint residue out from between the augers 114, 115 of the paintball loading device of the present invention. A user must simply remove the lower portion of the feed tube 131 from the exit port 136 of the main casing 140 and insert the barrel swab 191 in through the exit port 136 to clean the augers 114, 115. The user may also activate the feed system 30 while the barrel swab is between the augers 114, 115 in order to clean the whole circumference of the augers' 114, 115 surface. Water under low pressure (25 psi or less) may also be used to clean out the paintball loading device. The user must simply spray water into the storage cavity 140 j through the fill opening 133 with the feed tube 131 disconnected from the exit port 136 so that the water has a place to drain out. The electronics are sufficiently sealed off from the feed system 30 so as to eliminate the possibility of ruining the electronics.

A simplified schematic of an alternative embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 18. In the majority of paintball games it is most desirable and advantageous to have a paintball loading device that operates under its own power source. In games where this type of loading device is employed the quantity of paintballs used usually exceeds 1200, the games lasting as little as five or ten minutes. It is for this reason that the preferred embodiment of the present invention uses an electrical drive means to provide motive power to the feed system 30. In some circumstances however, such as scenario games, where generally fewer paintballs are used in such a short time span, it may be desirable to power the paintball loading device from the compressed air power source 602 of the paintball marker 100. The following paragraphs outline the method by which this is achieved.

A pneumatic drive system alternative for the paintball loading device of the present invention includes an air supply line 601 from the pressurized air tank 602 connected to the bottom of the paintball marker 100. The air supply line 601 feeds pressurized air to a regulator 603. The regulator 603 is adjustable via a set-screw 603 a. The regulator 603 is a schrader-type regulator commonly used in paintball applications. The output port 603 b of the regulator 603 is connected to a pneumatic motor 604. The pneumatic motor 604 may include a gear reduction unit 605. The output shaft 604 a of the pneumatic drive motor 604 is attached to a drive cup 606. The drive cup 606 couples the output shaft 604 a of the pneumatic motor 604 to the DCE 607. The DCE 607 of this alternative embodiment is the same in function as the DCE 109 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As in the preferred embodiment, a tang member of the DCE 607 attaches to a gear 608. The remaining components of the feed system are the same as explained in detail in proceeding sections for the preferred embodiment of the present invention. An on/off valve 609 may be located in line between the pressurized tank 602 and the pressure regulator 603 to selectively supply air to the pneumatic motor 604.

The output torque of the pneumatic motor 604 is proportional to the pressure of the air it receives from the pressure regulator 603. When the on/off valve 610 is turned to the “on” position, air flows through the pressure regulator 603 to the pneumatic motor 604. The pneumatic motor 604 will continue to run, and draw air from the regulator 603, until the torque exerted on its output shaft 604 a by the feed system 30 overcomes the torque generated by the pneumatic motor 604. The pneumatic motor 604 will then stop since the torque it is able to generate is limited by the input pressure from the pressure regulator 603. When the paintball marker 100 is fired, the torque exerted on the output shaft 604 a of the pneumatic motor 604 by the feed system 30 is released and the motor 604 is free to run again. The DCE 607 of this alternative embodiment performs a similar function to the DCE 109 of the preferred embodiment, in that it smoothes out the torque as experienced by the pneumatic motor 604 as well as the magnitude of the force exerted on the paintballs in the feed tube 131. 

1. A paintball loading device for loading paintballs into the breach of a paintball marker, the loading device comprising: (a) a hopper having a cavity, an exit port and an opening; (b) a drive housing mounted adjacent the hopper, the drive housing having a feed port in communication with the exit port of the hopper, an augur channel in communication with the feed port and a discharge port at one end of the augur channel; (c) a pair of parallel augurs rotatably mounted in the augur channel; (d) an electric drive mechanism for rotating the augurs in a counter rotating fashion, and (e) a feed tube having opposite fist and second ends, the first end being coupled to the discharge port of the drive housing, and the second end being attachable to the breach of the paintball marker.
 2. A paintball loading device of claim 1 wherein the drive mechanism comprises an electric motor coupled to the augurs by a dampening spring.
 3. A paintball loading device of claim 2 further comprising a motor controller for controlling the operation of the motor, the motor controller stopping the operation of the motor when the motor draws current beyond a pre-selected upper limit.
 4. A paintball loading device of claim 3 wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a locking mechanism for releasably locking the electric motor when the motor controller stops the operation of the motor.
 5. A paintball loading device of claim 4 further comprising a paintball sensor positioned at the second end of the feed tube, the paintball sensor being coupled to the motor controller, the paintball sensor being adapted and configured to send an electrical signal to the motor controller when paintballs past the sensor.
 6. A paintball loading device of claim 5 wherein the motor controller is adapted and configured to start the electric motor when the motor controller receives the electrical signal from the paintball sensor.
 7. A paintball loading device of claim 5 wherein the paintball sensor is a capacitance sensor having a pair of electrodes positioned adjacent the second end of the feed tube.
 8. A paintball loading device of claim 2 wherein the dampening springs has opposite first and second ends, the first end being coupled to the electric motor and the second end being coupled to the augurs.
 9. A paintball loading device of claim 8 wherein the dampening spring comprises a torsion spring.
 10. A paintball loading device of claim 1 wherein the drive mechanism comprises an electric motor coupled to a pulley, said pulley being coupled to a dampening spring, said dampening spring being coupled to one of the augurs, said augurs being coupled to each other by gears.
 11. An automatic self feeding paintball marker comprising: (a) a paintball marker having a breach; (b) a paintball loader for automatically feeding the breach, said paintball loader being mounted under the paintball marker; (c) said paintball loader comprising a hopper having a cavity, an exit port and an opening; (d) a drive housing mounted adjacent the hopper, the drive housing having a feed port in communication with the exit port of the hopper, an augur channel in communication with the feed port and a discharge port at one end of the augur channel; (e) a pair of parallel augurs rotatably mounted in the augur channel; (f) an electric drive mechanism for rotating the augurs in a counter rotating fashion, and (g) a feed tube having opposite fist and second ends, the first end being coupled to the discharge port of the drive housing, and the second end being attachable to the breach of the paintball marker.
 12. A paintball marker as defined in claim 11 wherein the drive mechanism comprises an electric motor coupled to the augurs by a dampening spring, the dampening spring configured to store torsion.
 13. The paintball marker of claim 12 further comprising a motor controller for controlling the operation of the motor, the motor controller stopping the operation of the motor when the motor draws current beyond a pre-selected upper limit.
 14. The paintball marker of claim 13 wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a locking mechanism for releasably locking the electric motor when the motor controller stops the operation of the motor.
 15. The paintball marker of claim 14 further comprising a paintball sensor positioned at the second end of the feed tube, the paintball sensor being coupled to the motor controller, the paintball sensor being adapted and configured to send an electrical signal to the motor controller when paintballs pass the sensor.
 16. The paintball marker of claim 15 wherein the motor controller is adapted and configured to start the electric motor when the motor controller receives the electrical signal from the paintball sensor.
 17. The paintball marker of claim 15 wherein the paintball sensor is a capacitance sensor having a pair of electrodes positioned adjacent the second end of the feed tube.
 18. The paintball marker of claim 12 wherein the dampening springs has opposite first and second ends, the first end being coupled to the electric motor and the second end being coupled to the augurs.
 19. The paintball marker of claim 12 wherein the dampening spring comprises a torsion spring.
 20. The paintball marker of claim 11 wherein the drive mechanism comprises an electric motor coupled to a pulley, said pulley being coupled to a dampening spring, said dampening spring being coupled to one of the augurs, said augurs being coupled to each other by gears. 